The Sunrise Story

Today is supposed to be a post about celebrating. I'm not in a celebrating mood. Why? You can read about it here , if you like. I think the beauty of this challenge is days like today. Rising to celebrate when you don't want to, so here goes... I celebrate all things peppermint!  Peppermint cookies, peppermint coffee, peppermint bath gel, peppermint lip balm...it's one of my favorite flavors and scents!  I celebrate Bella. I boarded Bella for six days. She was a bit stand-offish when I first picked her up, but that didn't last. Now, she can usually be found right by my side...except when she's sleeping in her new favorite spot: in front of the front door. (Is that a message to me?) I celebrate RISK, my OLW for 2014. I've done things I was scared to do because of this word. I've put myself out there and said, "Yes!" when I might have said no. Risk has been a terrific OLW.  I celebrate painting. It's been awhile since I painted. Yest...

I'm feeling like a fake...a fraud. Last night I had nightmares filled with bad things happening and I awoke (at 4AM) with a start. And now I'm feeling guilty for feeling so bad. My life is filled with so many blessings. Family that loves me. Friends that know me. Teaching...a job that's more than a job to me. I just came off a week at two unbelievable conferences and a lovely Thanksgiving holiday. There's no reason to feel anxious and alone and sad, yet I do.  It's the transition.  I'm grateful to writing. Writing always, always, always helps me figure out the whys of my feelings! As I reread what I wrote above, I know exactly why I'm feeling like this. I spent six days with people. Six days in a hotel room. Six days surrounded by friends, new and old. Six days talking about teaching and writing and reading. Six days excited about possibilities. Six days learning new things. And now...I'm alone again.  It's okay. I'm okay...I will be. I...

Thank you to each of the Two Writing Teachers : Stacey, Tara, Betsy, Dana, Anna, and Beth for this weekly opportunity to slice and for the community it's created for all of us. This year found NCTE in my backyard. I don't think I have words to fully describe my excitement at this prospect. Volunteering provided me the chance to attend this amazing conference. I couldn't wait because of the people...meeting so many people from my PLN made these few days thrilling and amazing.  Two years ago, I attended NCTE in Las Vegas. I thought that was amazing... but it didn't even come close to this conference. What was different? Me? Sessions? No. It's this: I am now part of a larger online community and this was my chance to bring my online friendships into the real world. Walking to a session and hearing someone call my name to say hello made me feel like I really belonged here. I met Carol and Margaret at the first session I attended. Getting a chance to talk fa...

Thank you to Holly for this wonderful link up to celebrate our spiritual journey. Today the topic is GRATITUDE. Join us! Being grateful changed my life.  It's all about perspective.  The red light can aggravate me and make me annoyed...or it can be a signal to slow down, enjoy the song on the radio, or have time to say a prayer. Being in a state of gratitude is what I work towards...yet, there are so many moments when I fall short.  Sharing gratitude helps. Having a practice of gratitude helps me. I share my gratitude with friends and family each morning. The accountability helps me continue this practice, especially on days when I want to quit. It's changed me. I look for the small things for which to be grateful and I notice the big things more easily!  Gratitude is contagious. Recently, I shared a gratitude challenge from a blogging friend, Terje , with my students.  Capture a list of 100 things to be grateful for. Today a student shared her list...

Please join us at  Two Writing Teachers  and share a slice of life! I am mostly a homebody. I love routine and quiet time. I can fill my days with reading and writing, painting and playing with Bella. Traveling stresses me out, but it's important to take RISKS and I always enjoy myself once I arrive at the destination...so I do try to take some trips. The act of traveling is hard. It starts with preparation. Booking the trip. Scheduling the days. Looking for the best deal. Reserving a spot in the kennel for Bella. Doing laundry. Deciding what to bring. Packing. Shopping for traveling essentials. Stopping the mail. Making sub plans. Sigh... I'm in the midst of that experience now. Getting ready to attend NCTE and ALAN. I can't wait until I'm THERE. It's just that getting there is the challenge. I have made some lists (and I'm not usually a list maker). I've started some piles. Plans are in the works for my students and I can see it...I'm getting...

Join us here to celebrate! I am grateful for my students. I am grateful for their great big hearts ! I am grateful for their empathy ! I am grateful for their kindness ! I am grateful for their  joy & humor ! I am grateful for their reflection ! I get to spend my days with these students. Guiding them. Watching them. Nudging them...and then getting out of their way as they take on the world! I am grateful for my students! Today I celebrate each one of them!

Thank you to Holly for the amazing topics each week!  This week was  MAKING A DIFFERENCE .  I've been struggling with some petty issues the past few days. I've also been struggling with my own feelings of self worth...so the topic of MAKING A DIFFERENCE was challenging to say the least. Those nasty voices in my head convinced me that I had nothing to add. It made me so sad. I felt so defeated...and then I came to school today and all of that changed.  We are reading Linda Sue Park's book A Long Walk to Water in class.  If you haven't read this book, please STOP reading this blog immediately and RUN out to get it. Read it. I'll be here. I'll wait. Go ahead! We talked about how hard it is to KNOW that these bad things happen. One of my students said, "I feel so bad. It's scary to know this happened and that it's real." Another student said, "If this book was fiction, this part wouldn't be hard to read at all...but these are r...

The title of this post comes from a Kid President video about heroes. Thanks to the Two Writing Teachers for the opportunity to share a slice of life each Tuesday! I'm so grateful for this opportunity to write and share with you! Have you ever had a day when you felt like a failure? A day where you felt like you kept messing things up, the more you tried to make them better? I had one of those days last week. Things weren't going well and I felt like I was failing as a teacher. I looked out at those faces and thought, "They deserve better." There's really no rhyme or reason to this particular day, but I couldn't shake those feelings. That's the big problem...moving past those negative feelings once they grab hold of you. I couldn't turn off the voice in my head that kept a running tally of all of my failures. I wish there was a mute button for that voice! During my planning, last block of the day, I decided to go for a walk. That'll help...

Thank you to Ruth Ayres for weekly celebrations.  Please join us over at Ruth's blog .  I'm writing this wrapped up in a blanket with a yummy cup of coffee and Bella sitting by my feet feeling so grateful for a lazy Saturday morning.  Brisk autumn temperatures with a shining blue sky makes me feel like everything is right in the world.  I celebrate being a connected educator. This week with colleagues, Mike & JB, we facilitated the first Twitter Chat for our county!  It was amazing. Have you ever started something new? We wondered if it would be just the three of us tweeting back and forth. It wasn't! The archive had over seven hundred tweets! I love the energy and ideas and connections made during a twitter chat. I'm grateful for those who attended and I celebrate the risk of those teachers who tweeted for the first time that night. When I think of teachers, that's what I see...people taking risks, collaborating, celebrating and being the best...

[ View the story "1st #LCPSedchat: Connected Educator" on Storify ]

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers blog for hosting Slice of Life every Tuesday.  There are so many reasons that I love being a teacher...that moment when you see a student find a book they love. Watching a struggling student finally understand a concept they've been struggling with for days. Reading thoughtful, creative, reflective writing from 11 and 12 year olds. I live for these moments.  Another reason I love teaching is new beginnings. Wednesday begins second quarter. I like wrapping up the learning from one quarter and moving onto something new. Second quarter is fun because we all know each other, students know expectations and we are into the groove of school. The focus becomes the learning. Yesterday was spent planning learning experiences for second quarter. Thanks to the ideas & inspiration of my PLN I'm working on a social issues unit. We will be reading about social issues and researching and writing about social issues. What's better tha...

Thank you to Margaret for this link up for Digital Literacy ! The connections that I've made on Twitter and by blogging have been invaluable! These connections have made me a better teacher! This week we are starting a chat on Twitter for the teachers in Loudoun County. The hope is others find their own PLN! Please join us and share your experiences and your knowledge. The details are below... When: November 6, 2014 First Thursday of the month at 8pm Where: Twitter (use Twubs.com or tweetchat.com to follow the conversation more easily) What: Chat topics & questions will be announced before the chat. Hashtag: #lcpsedchat Who: EVERYONE! Looking for LCPS teachers...ALL are welcome! Topic: Connected Educator What does being a CE mean to you? Where do you go to connect? Advantages to being a CE? How do you encourage others to connect? How has it changed you as an educator? Who do you follow? FAQ Sign into either tweetchat.com or ...

I love ending the week with celebrations! Thank you Ruth !  Please join us and share your celebrations! I celebrate my favorite season...AUTUMN!  I've noticed the colors that greet me each morning, the brilliant skies each evening and the gorgeous leaves shining on the trees.  I celebrate authors, in particular, Sharon Draper. I got the opportunity to hear her speak this week and I loved every moment of it. From the moment her talk began, I could see the teacher in her! She captivated the audience and a couple of my students came out to hear her! What an amazing night!!  I celebrate ZONE Day in class. The final day of the quarter is a celebration of reading. We read. Ninety minutes of reading. It's like the best day of the year. Here are some of my students after they've settled in to their books. What a joy it is to witness this and be a part of it!!! (I read two and a half books!!) I celebrate my PLN! I celebrate the ideas that yo...